Pollinators’ pour

Red square, blue circle, yellow triangle: The sequence can be traced back to the color and shape theory of the Bauhaus artist Wassily Kandinsky. Grellroth, a novelty concrete producer in Krefeld, Germany, adopts the artist’s style in the design of bee hotels it casts from self-consolidating concrete mixes, dosed with weather-stable Lanxess inorganic pigments.

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Cat extends semi-autonomous operating tools to small loaders series

Command for Loading has been added to Cat 926M, 930M and 938M model options. Removing the operator from the wheel loader, it provides semi-autonomous remote control to increase safety and is available in line-of-sight or non-line-of-sight operating configurations. By allowing users to comfortably control the machine from a safe location, Command for Loading maintains high machine productivity in challenging operating environments.

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Stand-up rebar tying tool

The TwinTier RB401T-E is presented as the world’s first stand-up, battery-powered rebar tying tool. Designed to reduce back strain, it features an extended frame allowing concrete slab crew members to tie rebar while standing upright. The tool’s automatic contact mechanism/switch forms a tie when pushed down over a rebar intersection; no trigger to pull. Users can adjust the RB401T-E handles to two positions to find the most comfortable one for their height. The long nose attachment allows the tool to glide into rebar intersections with minimal operator effort. The features work together to reduce instances of back strain and musculoskeletal injuries.

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Conveying connectors

BFM connectors are designed to transform material conveying connectors from labor intensive hose clamps to snap-in fitting efficiency. In addition to providing a 100 percent leak- and dust-free connection, the BFM system eliminates hose clamped sleeves for faster cleaning and tool-free changeovers. Package includes spigots and connectors in a full range of sizes for fast replacement and fewer production interruptions.

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Concrete and masonry screws

Titen Turbo screws’ patented thread is engineered to deliver smooth driving with less torque and holding power. Presented as easy, fast, and reliable to install, the anchors are suited to attaching all types of fixtures to concrete and masonry. They feature a torque-reduction channel to trap drilling dust where it can’t obstruct thread action—significantly reducing binding, stripping, and snapping without compromising strength. The reverse thread design also allows more space for dust to help prevent anchors from bottoming out in smaller diameter screw holes. In addition to their installation advantages, Titen Turbo anchors have been engineered and tested to provide high tension load values.

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Jobsite module ups productivity bar in many-to-many Command Alkon platform

On the heels of deployments involving top names in heavy civil construction, Command Alkon has released the Connex Jobsite platform to orchestrate material movements; job cost tracking, order and yield management; and, provide traceability plus quality assurance insights. Information shared digitally across construction project stakeholders boosts productivity, safety, and project outcome certainty, Connex programmers affirm.

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Mix and Washout Recycling Equipment

Concrete plant/yard space limitations, tightening storm and process water management rules, escalating waste-concrete hauling and disposal costs, and sustainability-driven water recycling measures are prompting more producers to invest in mix reclaiming and slurry filter press equipment. Concrete Products visits key players in both categories.

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Complete Load Solutions finishes critical electronic communications link

Losses from operational miscues, a general lack of ready mixed concrete dispatch and batch process efficiency, and significant task redundancies triggered a software programming and Internet of Things technology project leading to the late-2019 launch of Complete Load Solutions, LLC. By fully realizing communications links between dispatch software, batch software, and mixer trucks, the Chicago-based firm aims to eliminate load-out errors, while maximizing plant production.

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Arbitrator closes HeidelbergCement earnout claim in Forterra’s favor

Sources: Forterra Inc., Irving, Texas; CP staff

A neutral accounting arbitrator has determined that no earnout payment from concrete pipe and precast giant Forterra is due to HeidelbergCement AG under terms of a 2015 Hanson Building Products business spinoff, initially valued at $1.2 billion. HeidelbergCement had sought a $100 million earnout payment based on the fiscal 2015 performance of Hanson Building Products, whose Dallas-based suitor, Lone Star Fund IX (U.S.) LP, adopted the Forterra brand. The Delaware Court of Chancery deferred an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) calculation—central to the earnout payment clause—to the arbitrator in conjunction with a late-2017 dismissal of a HeidelbergCement suit.

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